[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 177 (Wednesday, September 11, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47866-47867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23207]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rocky Mountain Region; Environmental Impact Statement for Sheep
Flats Diversity Unit Timber Sales, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison
National Forests, Mesa County, Colorado
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Revison of a Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental
impact statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL: The responsible official for this environmental
impact statement is Mr. Robert Storch, Forest Supervisor of the Grand
Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests, 2250 Highway 50,
Delta, Colorado 81416.
SUMMARY: The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact
statement about four (4) proposed timber sales: Valley View, Sheep
Flats, Grove Creek, and Leon. These sales are located in the Sheep
Flats Diversity Unit on the Grand Mesa National Forest, Collbran Ranger
District.
DATES: Publication of Draft EIS: November 1996; Final EIS: August 1997.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Pam Bode, Team Leader, USDA Forest
Service, 216 North Colorado Street, Gunnison, CO, 81230. Contact Pam
Bode also for further information. Phone: 970-641-0471. FAX: 970-641-
1928.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Forest Supervisor will use this
Environmental Impact Statement to decide how to manage the timber
resource within the Sheep Flats Diversity Unit. The Forest Service is
proposing to harvest four timber sales on this National Forest system
land. Even-aged and uneven-aged silvicultural systems are being planned
in Engelmann spruce, sub-alpine fir, and aspen stands. These sales are
scheduled to be offered within a five to ten year period after this
analysis.
Initial scoping of interested parties identified three preliminary
issues. These are: (1) Constructing roads and harvesting timber within
an area that was identified as the Salt Creek Roadless Area during the
1979 RARE II process, (2) harvesting old growth timber, and (3)
cumulative impacts on ecosystems from logging operations in and around
the sale areas.
Five alternatives will be studied in this analysis. Alternative 1
is no action. Alternatives 2 and 4 harvest suitable timber but do not
enter the Salt Creek Roadless Area. Alternative 2 creates a balance of
structural stages and accommodates wildlife travel corridors.
Alternative 4 maximizes the amount of wood fiber removed. Alternatives
3 and 5 harvest suitable timber throughout the Diversity Unit,
including within the Salt Creek Roadless Area. Alternative 3 creates a
balance of structural stages and accommodates wildlife travel
corridors. Alternative 5 maximizes the amount of wood fiber removed.
The proposed action is Alternative 3.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acres planned for harvest
Alternative -------------------------------- Volume in Number of
Total acres RARE II acres board feet sales
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.................................................... 0 0 0 0
2.................................................... 707 0 2,456,000 1
3.................................................... 2,666 1959 11,505,000 4
4.................................................... 914 0 3,387,000 1
5.................................................... 3,647 2733 15,630,000 4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This notice is a renotification of the Forest Service's intent to
study these timber sales within the Sheep Flats Diversity Unit. A
previous notice of intent was published in the Federal Register Volume
57, #31, on 2/14/92. A previous notice of availability of the draft EIS
was published in Volume 59, #5, on 1/7/94. This notice provides new
dates for completions of the revised draft and the final Environmental
Impact Statements. The alternatives that are being studied have changed
substantially from the previous document.
Since this is a renotification, news releases have already been
issued and a public meeting has already taken place in March, 1992.
Field tours to the proposed area have already been conducted with
concerned parties. Additional news releases have been issued explaining
the new timeline for this analysis. Parties that expressed interest
previously have been informed individually by mail that this analysis
is continuing. No additional public meetings are planned, however, the
Forest Service is willing to consider any party's request for
additional field tours or public meetings.
The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will
be 45 days from the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes
the notice of availability in the Federal Register.
The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important
to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public
participation in the
[[Page 47867]]
environmental review process. First, reviewers of draft environmental
impact statements must structure their participation in the
environmental review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and
alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and contentions. Vermont
Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. NRDC, 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also,
environmental objections that could be raised at the draft
environmental impact stage but that are not raised until after
completion of the final environmental statement may be waived or
dismissed by the courts. City of Angoon v. Hodel, 803 F.2d 1016, 1022
(9th Cir. 1980) and Wisconsin Heritages, Inc. v. Harris, 490 F. Supp.
1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, it is very
important that those interested in this proposed action participate by
the close of the 45 day comment period so that substantive comments and
objections are made available to the Forest Service at a time when it
can meaningfully consider them and respond to them in the final
environmental impact statement.
To assist the Forest Service in identifying and considering issues
and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft
environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is
also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the
draft statements. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft
environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives
formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer
to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing
the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at
40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.
Dated: August 8, 1996.
Robert L. Storch,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 96-23207 Filed 9-10-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M